Garment construction



Nov. 26, 1963 G. R. NELSON ETAL GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 7, 1961 INVENTORS. Florence F. Eiseman BY Gloria R. Nelson Mw, WM

j'orne s United States Patent O 3,111,681 GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Gloria R. Nelson and Florence F. Eiseman, Milwaukee,

Wis., assignors to Florence Eiseman, Inc., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Sept. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 136,525 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-243) The present invention relates generally to improvements in the art of garment manufacture, and it relates more specifically to an improved hem construction for the lower portions of womens or childrens skirts.

The primary object of our invention is to provide an improved hem structure for skirts whereby adjustment of the lengths of such garments is greatly facilitated in a practical and economical manner.

Adjustable hem lines `for garments have heretofore been proposed for the purpose of lfacilitating alterations in the length of garments. However, garments embodying prior adjustable hem line constructions have not met with any appreciable degree of commercial success for various reasons. In some instances, an excess of the relatively expensive outer fabric has been required in order to utilize the proposed construction, thus undesirably increasing the cost of the final garment while also interfering with pressing of `the garment because of the excessive fabric. In other cases, the hem tucking and stitching operations have been impractical and costly, requiring various slow and tedious hand, rather than machine, operations, the stitching invariably being likewise inaccessible for the required alterations except from the blind side due to its location between the layers or folds. In still other instances, the prior adjustable hem construction Was such as to require stitching through the outer fabric of the garment or through a portion of the adjustment tuck thereof which was utlimately exteriorly exposed following a lengthening alteration, thereby detracting in the appearance of the garment.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a garment with an improved adjustable hem line construction, which obviates all of the above-mentioned objections and disadvantages attendant prior constructions intended for similar purposes while enhancing the appearance of the garment.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved tuck assemblage especially applicable to lined skirts or the like for the purpose of varying the effective lengths thereof, and which may be readily manipulated lto alter such skirt lengths while being capable of machine fabrication in a rapid and expeditious manner.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a simple but efficient variable length skirt structure in which the stitching of the adjustable hem is never exposed to the outer face of the garment, and which is especially useful for growing children, or to meet changing styles.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a novel skirt assemblage wherein a readily accessible and visible chain stitch is employed which -may be quickly located and severed Iby a novice to effect adjustments and thereby meet varying conditions.

These and other more specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

A clear conception of the features constituting the present improvements, and of the construction and operation of several types of variable length skirts embodying the invention, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective and ltransverse sectional view of a fragment of a typical skirt hem portion illustrating one form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a View similar to that of FIG. l of the same skirt, but showing the skirt lengthened .to an intermediate length;

FIG. 3 is another View similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2 of the same skirt, but showing the skirt lengthened to its fullest extent;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section through a fragment of a somewhat -modied hem assemblage applied to a skirt in which a portion of the skirt material per se is utilized as the liner, and wherein several superimposed tucks are provided to form the adjustable hem; and

FIG. 5 is a transverse section through the hem asse-mblage shown in FIG. 4, but with the skirt partially lengthened by releasing only the lower tuck.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as having been specifically embodied in unpleated or plain fabric skirts which may be provided with either separate linings or with herns formed integral with the skirt fabric, it is not intended to limit the novel features of such garments; and it is also contemplated that specific descriptive terms employed herein be given the broadest possible interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. l, 2 and 3 of the drawing, the garment assemblage shown therein comprises an outer fabric skirt 8 having an inwardly folded marginal edge portion forming an inte-gral bottom tuck or hem portion 9; a

fabric lining 10` disposed interiorly of the skirt 8 and having an outwardly folded marginal edge portion forming an integral bottom tuck or hem portion 11 of slightly less width than the skirt hem portion 9 but with the extreme edge thereof coinciding with the edge of the skirt hem portion; a row of stitching 12 permanently interconnecting the adjoining free upper edges of the hem portions 9, 11; and a detachable row of stitching 13 connecting the hem portion 11 with the main body of the lining 1t), the stitching 13 being located immediately below and extending approximately parallel with the stitching 12 to initially positively position both hem portions 9', 11 between the fabric Walls 8-, '10.

The lining 10 may extend either entirely or only partially throughout the length of the skirt body 8 and has its uppermost edge `fastened thereto in any suitable manner, and While .both the skirt 8` and the lining 10 would ordinarily be formed of fabric having either the same or different characteristics, any other suitable materials may be utilized. When the skirt assemblage of FIGS. l to 3 inclusive is initially furnished to the customer, the hem portions 9', 11 may be interconnected by the row of stitching 12 joined to the lining 10l by the detachable stitching 13 to form a hem of maximum vertical witdth as in FIG. 1, and it has 4been found further desirable to additionally detachably secure the hem portion 11 along an inter-mediate portion thereof to the body of the lining 10 by another row of detachable stitching 14 extending parallel with the stitching 13. Thus, by removing the detachable row of chain stitching 13 and if needed, the row of stitching 14, the width of the hem may obviously be progressively reduced as desired and as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 until the hem and the stitching 13 and 14 are entirely eliminated as in FIG. 2. However, it should be understood that the garment may be furnished either with or without the stitching 14.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the garment assemblage comprises outer and inner fabric walls 18, 19, respectively, shown as being formed of a single piece with the outer wall 18 being folded inwardly and upwardly to provide a bottom tuck or hem portion 20, while the inner wall 19 is provided with several superimposed folds `forming a succession of parallel tucks 21, 22. Since this modied garment is formed of a single piece of fabric, the upper edges of the tucks 21, 22` are .permanently interconnected and no rows of stitching, such as at 12 in FIGS. 1 to 3, interconnecting the successive hem portions are necessary, but the upper edge of the upper tuck 21 is detachably connected to the adjacent wall 19 by a row of removable chain stitching 23', while the upper edge of the lower tuck 22 is likewise attached to the upper edge of the bottom tuck 20 by another removable row of stitching 24. By removing one of these rows of stitching 23, 24 the skirt may be lengthened partially as in FIG. 5, and by removing both of these stitching rows, the garment may obviously be lengthened to its maximum extent. In this embodiment, the inner skirt wall 19 may also be fastened at its upper edge in any suitable manner, and if it is desired to have the several pleats of the hem show on the exterior of the garment, then the outer and inner walls 18, 19 may be reversed.

From the foregoing description, it should be apparent that the present invention in fact provides a simple skirt hem assemblage which can be readily constructed and manipulated to lengthen or shorten the Skirt as desired. The improved structure may obviously be `applied either to composite garments having linings formed of material other than of the main skirts, or to assemblages in which the linings and skirts are formed of the same material, and the improvement has gone into highly successful use. Also, skirts embodying the improvement may be shortened readily merely by taking a tuck in the lining or inner wall to the desired extent, and the adjustable hem =will thus be preserved in its initial Iform.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are coning hem portions positioned between the skirt walls, andy at least one row of continuous externally exposed detachable stitching connecting one of -said hem portions with the adjacent wall of said skirt along a line spaced from the common joining line, whereby the vertical width of =both hem portions may -be simultaneously varied corresponding amounts by merely detaching said row of detachable stitching.

2. A garment assemblage according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of spaced rows of the detachable stitching connect the said one of the hem portions with the said adjacent wall of the skirt, one of said rows being located adjacent to the common line joining the marginal edges of the walls and the other of Said rows of detachable stitching being spaced below said aforementioned row.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 982,878 Rowland Jan. 3'1, 1911 1,643,159 Greenberg Sept. 20, 1927 2,527,973 Thomas etal Oct. 31, 195() 2,713,685 Nachem July 26, 1955 2,717,395 I-Iolshouser Sept. 13, 1955 2,856,609 Persico et al Oct. 21, 1958 

1. A GARMENT ASSEMBLAGE COMPRISING, A DOUBLED-WALL SKIRT HAVING THE LOWER MARGINAL EDGES OF THE INNER AND OUTER WALLS THEREOF JOINED ALONG A COMMON LINE AND FOLDED INWARDLY TOWARD EACH OTHER TO PROVIDE INWARDLY EXTENDING HEM PORTIONS POSITIONED BETWEEN THE SKIRT WALLS, AND AT LEAST ONE ROW OF CONTINUOUS EXTERNALLY EXPOSED DETACHABLE STICHING CONNECTING ONE OF SAID HEM PORTIONS WITH THE ADJACENT WALL OF SAID SKIRT ALONG A LINE SPACED FROM THE COMMON JOINING LINE, WHEREBY THE VERTICAL WIDTH OF BOTH HEM PORTIONS MAY BE SIMULTANEOUSLY VARIED CORRESPONDING AMOUNTS BY MERELY DETACHING SAID ROW OF DETACHABLE STITCHING. 